Family and clan
Degoodi (Degodia, Dagodia)
The Degoodi (Degodia) are a Somali clan of north-eastern Kenya, Ethiopia's Liban zone and southern Somalia. Abbink places them under Gugundhabe in the Hawiye. Wikipedia and Somali Wikipedia trace them instead to Saransoor and Gardheere, with the Gaaljecel, Masarre and Ciise. Kenya's 2019 census counts 515,948 Degodia, and Wikipedia calls them the largest Somali clan in Wajir.
Name and family tree
The Degoodi are a Somali clan living across Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The name is also written Degodia, Dagodia and Degodiye. Sources disagree on their clan family, as the table shows.
| Source | Line it gives |
|---|---|
| Abbink 2009 | Hawiye > Gugundabe > Degodiye (Abbink, The Total Somali Clan Genealogy, 2009, p. 29) |
| World Bank 2005 | Lists the Degoodi among the "Hawiye associates" (World Bank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, 2005, Appendix 2) |
| Wikipedia (backup) | Samaale > Gardheere > Garjante > Adow > Saransoor > Degodia, citing a 2004 Max Planck Institute study (Wikipedia, Degodia, backup) |
| Somali Wikipedia (backup) | Gardheere Samaale > Saransoor, with Gaaljecel, Masarre and Ciise as brother lines (Somali Wikipedia, Dagoodi, backup) |
| Kenya census 2019 | Counts the Degodia as a group of their own, among Kenyan Somalis (KNBS, Ethnic affiliation, 2019 census) |
ACLED's 2025 clan list does not code a Degoodi group. See the Hawiye tree and Gaaljecel, whom both lines place close to the Degoodi.
Main branches
Abbink lists these lines under Degodiye (Abbink 2009, p. 29):
- Masare
- Fardanow
- Midhimaal
- Gelible
- Dumaal
- Jibrail
- Fau
- Reer Mohamud
- Mau
- Samatar
Wikipedia and Somali Wikipedia instead treat Masarre as a brother line of the Degoodi, not a section of it. Neither gives a list of Degoodi sections.
Where they live
No census in Somalia counts people by clan. ACCORD notes that Somalis often claim more members than their groups have, "in order to demonstrate strength" (ACCORD, Clans in Somalia, 2009, p. 11).
| Place | What the sources record |
|---|---|
| Kenya | The KNBS table of Kenya's 2019 census lists 515,948 Degodia (KNBS 2019). Wikipedia calls them the largest Somali clan in north-eastern Kenya and the majority in Wajir County. It also names Mandera North (Wikipedia, Degodia, backup) |
| Ethiopia | Wikipedia says they have a very large presence in the Liban zone of the Somali Region (same source) |
| Somalia | Wikipedia places them in the south near the Kenyan and Ethiopian borders, including Gedo and Jubaland, and in Mogadishu and Kismayo (same source) |
Wikipedia's shares for Wajir, Mandera and Liban come from "community estimates", not a census. See Somalis in Kenya and Gedo.
History on record
- Early 1800s. Wikipedia says the Degoodi moved to the right bank of the Shabelle. It says they settled on Rahanweyn land as tenants, paying tribute for about a century (Wikipedia, Degodia, backup).
- 1895. It says a war with the Rahanweyn over tribute ended through the Italian officer Vittorio Bottego. It says the Degoodi then signed a treaty declaring themselves Italian subjects (same source).
- 1895. It says the traveller Arthur Donaldson Smith found them beside the Afgab. It says their land reached east to the Weyib and Dawa rivers (same source).
- February 1984. Kenyan security forces held Degodia men at the Wagalla airstrip near Wajir (Al Jazeera, 2014). See Wagalla, 1984.
Elders and customary law
Senior Somali clan leaders carry titles such as suldaan, ugaas or issim. Their role is "mainly judicial and representative" (UK Home Office, CPIN Somalia: clans, 2019, quoting EASO 2014).
The Degoodi title is wabar. Wikipedia lists twelve wabar, from Wabar Cuudow to Wabar Abdille, whom it calls the current holder (Wikipedia, Degodia, backup). See xeer, Somali customary law.
In recent conflict records
The EUAA conflict list for Somalia in April 2023 to March 2025 does not name the Degoodi (EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.5.1). Most Degoodi live in Kenya and Ethiopia, outside that report's scope. See clan conflicts, district by district.
Where sources differ
- Clan family. Abbink places the Degoodi under Gugundhabe in the Hawiye. The World Bank chart calls them "Hawiye associates". Wikipedia and Somali Wikipedia trace them to Saransoor and Gardheere.
- Masarre. Abbink lists Masare as a Degodiye section. Wikipedia lists Masarre as a brother line.
- Numbers. Kenya's census gives a national count. The regional shares on Wikipedia are community estimates.
Read more
Sources
- Abbink, The Total Somali Clan Genealogy, 2009, p. 29 · hdl.handle.net
- World Bank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, 2005, Appendix 2 · openknowledge.worldbank.org
- Wikipedia, Degodia, backup · en.wikipedia.org
- Somali Wikipedia, Dagoodi, backup · so.wikipedia.org
- KNBS, Ethnic affiliation, 2019 census · new.knbs.or.ke
- ACCORD, Clans in Somalia, 2009, p. 11 · ecoi.net
- Al Jazeera, 2014 · aljazeera.com
- UK Home Office, CPIN Somalia: clans, 2019, quoting EASO 2014 · ecoi.net
- EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.5.1 · coi.euaa.europa.eu
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